SUITCASES lined the floor of Nongki-Nongki eatery in Bavet, Cambodia. Most of the patrons were Indonesians. They ate plates of mixed rice dishes and Padang-style meals, speaking in hushed tones. From other tables came faint bursts of Indonesian profanity, animal names slipping into conversation.

On Saturday afternoon, January 24, 2026, they prepared to leave the casino town on the Cambodia-Vietnam border for the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom